There is an ongoing commitment to alleviating the desperate condition of poor, underserved people, especially in the rural areas of the developing world in providing safe drinking water. UN reports show that more than a billion people worldwide still go without it, and as a result, five million of them (many children) die from waterborne diseases every year. The World Health Organization's Water, Sanitation and Health branch wrote that an adequate supply of safe drinking water is universally recognized as a basic human need. The health consequences resulting from the inequity of poor services are sometimes considerable, as evidenced by the infant mortality rates which may vary between two and ten times in magnitude between those served with good water supplies and those which are not. The poor, in particular, are at high risk from epidemic diarrheal diseases, such as cholera.
Sanitary engineers have witnessed this devastation first-hand. It is easier in many parts of the world to find a gallon of clean gasoline than clean water. Building sustainable water treatment and delivery infrastructure for all peoples of the world is the ultimate goal. However, given the enormous costs, engineering effort and political will required, this goal may never be achieved. An interim solution is needed, and the need is dire. Throughout the third world, one can witness first hand the devastation that is wrought by the lack of clean water for the families.